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Somehow, next weekend is EASTER, despite that fact that I’m pretty sure Christmas was only a few weeks ago… right?

With Easter inevitably comes a lot of egg or bunny-shaped chocolate, wrapped in shiny foil. While I do have a weak spot for certain shiny-wrapped egg-shaped chocolate (as not-so-subtly hinted last Easter), most conventionally made chocolate is filled with a lot of junk – additives and preservatives, artificial flavourings and a TON of sugar. Traditionally, chocolate is made by roasting and fermenting cacao beans which are then ground, sweetened, and tempered to make chocolate. In addition to this, the chocolate that we buy in the supermarket usually has milk solids and/or condensed milk added to make “dairy milk” chocolate.

I decided this year to try my hand at making some homemade raw chocolate for Easter, which is made with raw cacao butter and cacao powder, and then sweetened and flavoured to your liking. Raw chocolate products – ie the cacao butter and powder – are either cold-pressed or naturally-dried as opposed to the traditional process which heats the beans to very high temperatures thus losing some of the nutrients which occur naturally within the cacao beans. This means that raw chocolate products not only contain more nutrients, but they are also higher in antioxidants AND contain so called “bliss chemicals” (aka anandamide and phenylethylamine) which have been shown can help in lifting mood and making you feel generally happy – so eating this chocolate will literally make you happy whichever way you look at it!

Raw chocolate is a both a little easier to work with but also a little more difficult than using conventional chocolate. Confused? Let me explain further – conventional chocolate that you melt down yourself can be a little fussy; overheat it and you’ll ruin it beyond repair! That said, if you get it right, it’s thick and glossy texture makes it perfect for lining Easter egg moulds, whereas raw chocolate is extremely thin and runny and if you want to coat an Easter egg mould to create a hollow egg, it will take a lot of patience and about 38 layers of chocolate. I found that out the hard way… If however all you fancy is a solid little eggy that’s far healthier than it’s conventional cousin, then you are going to LOVE raw chocolate! The taste is a little richer than what you may be used too, but this means that you’ll be satisfied after only a few, rather than being able to eat a million of them and not stopping until you feel sick (I also speak from experience here sadly). If you aren’t a huge fan of dark chocolate, then I suggest you try the coconut milk version below, it’s a little creamier and sweeter than the first method, making it a little more palatable.

To keep the chocolate “raw”, make sure you heat it over the lowest possible heat, and as soon as its melted turn the hotplate off. I used a candy thermometer to make sure it didn’t go above 46 and managed to keep it well below. Alternatively, you could use a double boiler instead, however if you go this way just make sure that you don’t get any water in the mixture as it will spoil it. Likewise, make sure you use a metal spoon or whisk to stir the chocolate mixture as wooden utensils can hold water in them which can then seep into the chocolate.

As with regular store-bought chocolate, there are endless options for what you can do with this. Add shredded coconut, chopped nuts, dried fruit, puffed wholegrain cereal – or get really creative and try something a little left-field – like some spices or some crushed herbs.

Along with this dark chocolate, I also played around with making which chocolate – I made a gorgeous white chocolate egg marbled with raspberry and blueberry flavoured chocolate… though unfortunately the whole thing broke when I tried to get it out of its shell so while it still tasted great, the whole “Easter egg” thing didn’t quite go to plan. I may have to keep working on that one I think…

And lastly, a note on the moulds – I looked everywhere I could think of to find some standard egg-shaped moulds, but after being told “we don’t have any egg shapes sorry, how about a cute bunny?” a dozen or so times, I finally resorted to online shopping (sorry cute bunnies!) Amazon have a few or for those in Australia I bought mine here.

Add all ingredients for whichever chocolate you choose to make into a small sauce pan over the lowest possible heat. Stir with a metal spoon until all melted together and smooth.

Remove from heat and pour into moulds, reserving a few tablespoons of the mixture.

Set in the freezer at least 20 minutes.

Once completely set, remove from the freezer and heat the leftover chocolate again over low heat. Using a brush, paint a small amount of chocolate over the flat side of an egg half, and then stick to the flat side of another egg half. Continue this process until all egg halfs are combined and you have a set of whole eggs. Place back in the freezer to set, and then store in the fridge.

Notes

The dark chocolate version is my favorite - though it's very "dark" and bordering on bitter. If you prefer a sweeter style chocolate, add a little extra sweetener, or try the coconut cream version instead.

Despite my occasional whinging about the weather (sorry B!) I do love that we live somewhere that’s lucky enough to experience all four seasons. I love each for different reasons, but I particularly love the change between each season.

The change from summer to autumn (“fall” for those of you in the States) has already started – the crispness of the evenings and early mornings, the colour of the leaves starting to turn. The slightly cooler temperatures are just the right balance where it’s not unbearably cold but still cool enough to warrant snuggling up on the couch with a cup of chai and a good movie on the weekends. One of my favorite places to see the change in season is a walking track near where I used to live. It’s right in the city, but the perfect balance of urban and country. The city behind you, the mountain (sometimes snow-capped) in front, and a rivulet winds along the track dotted with deciduous trees in their most beautiful time of year.

We have been going for a walk along that track quite a bit lately, and the other week we took Maggie for a walk there one day after work. Maggie has always been headstrong with a sense of entitlement – I swear she think we are her humans, rather than her being our dog – and when she first came into our lives as a young puppy, she was utterly fearless as well. She would bound over to the other – much larger – dogs at the park despite her small size, until one day one of the larger dogs she was playing with accidentally trod on her and the incident scarred her for life. We refer to this dog as Maggie’s Arch Nemesis, and even though “the incident” occurred nearly 18 months ago, Maggie still holds a grudge. When her Arch Nemisis walks past our house these days, Maggie kicks off and barks ferociously at the poor dog trying to enjoy an afternoon walk with his human. On our walk the other night however, Maggie met another little dog similar to her age and size named Roger and played happily with no “incidents” for a good few minutes until Roger’s human threw an apple into the rivulet. Roger bounded in after it – apparently he has a fondness for both water and apples. Maggie – who is a bit precious and hates water, sulking when it rains, and only eats fruit if its hand-fed to her – looked on disappointed that her new friend had found something more interesting than her. Not being the centre of attention is definitely not something Maggie is used too.

The other thing I love about autumn is the change in food. Our bodies are smart and if we learn to listen to them, they will crave the foods we need depending on the season or other factors such as if we’re run down or unwell and need foods to nourish us more than normal. The cooler temperatures over the weekend and the slightly hint of a cold had me yearning for a warm bowl of comforting soup, which is exactly what I have to share with you today. I first made this soup last winter and loved it, so I jotted it down to make again once the cooler weather set in. The soup is thick, rich and filling, but it’s the topping that really makes it so I definitely recommend you go the extra step and fry/grill the corn and make the Savoury Seed Granola for the topping. The sweetness and juiciness of the corn, the slightly salty and crispy granola, the rich velvety coconut cream and the fragrant rosemary really take this from being “just a soup” to being something a lot more special.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and fry a few minutes until the onion starts to soften and become translucent and then add the rosemary and paprika. Stir well to coat, another minute or so.

Add the lentils, sweet potato and carrot and stir to coat and then pour in the liquid, stirring to combine. Bring to a simmer and then cook for 15 minutes. Add half the corn and the tomatoes, and cook another 15 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In the mean time, heat a skillet over high heat. Once hot, add the corn kernels, and cook, stirring occasionally until they start to brown on the outside. Make sure to watch the whole time to ensure they don't burn.

Using either a blender or hand blender, puree the soup, and then serve hot topped with the corn, coconut cream, fresh rosemary and the savoury granola.

Notes

You could chargrill the corn on the cob instead here by cooking the shucked corn over a flame (ie on the BBQ grill) for 10 minutes or so, until the edges are charred with a wonderfully nutty aroma.

With St Patricks day coming up, we tend to see a surge of green-coloured food and drinks infiltrate the shops, stores and blog feeds. A lot of these use artificial green colouring, but not being a huge fan of artificial colourings, I decided to share a naturally green treat for St Paddys day instead. I’m not sure that there’s anything Irish about this treat – other than the soft green hue… though surely the Irish love chocolate as much as the rest of us, no? In fact I’m pretty sure when I went to Ireland back in 2006 I bought a chocolate bar – so there you have it! ;)

Matcha – which I have used to colour and flavour this raw white chocolate – is finely ground, high quality green tea leaves produced in Japan. Green tea has a number of health benefits such as being very high in antioxidants – matcha more so than traditional green tea as you ingest the whole l(ground) leaves rather than just steeping then discard them. Some studies have also indicated that regular consumption of green tea/matcha can reduce the risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, and help with weight loss and management.

Matcha has a very distinct taste – with strong vegetal tones and being naturally slightly sweet. Good quality macha should not be overly sweet though, or bitter, however the taste can take a little getting used to for some people.

The first time I tried matcha was when I went to Japan on holiday in 2009, where evvvvverything was matcha flavoured. From Kit Kats to Starbucks lattes to McDonalds McFlurries. I tried a few different matcha-flavoured treats and wasn’t really sure what the fuss was about – to me they all tasted sickly sweet like the non-matcha flavoured counterparts, but with a funny aftertaste. It wasn’t until I purchased a small tin of matcha chocolates that I finally started to click. I’m not sure what the ingredients were (the list was in Japanese) but they were delicious – creamy, not too sweet and with that subtle but distinguishable matcha taste.

When I was thinking of what ingredients to pair with my matcha chocolate, my mind immediately turned to genmaicha, which is a traditional Japanaese style of green tea served with toasted rice. I Googled how to make the rice myself and found this article online, however in the end I went with the easy option and bought some genmaicha from my local Asian supermarket. A bit of a cop out I know, but I wanted to make the recipe easy for everyone, and the process for making your own genmaicha seemed a little long-winded and complicated. That said, I do like a cooking challenge, and love making things from scratch, so this may have to be a project I save for a rainy day.

If green tea chocolate just isn’t your thing, you may want to try one of my other (naturally) green coloured dishes this St Paddy’s day.

And for the main even, how about a simple Greens + beans soup to tantalise your taste buds or the creme de la creme of all green coloured food, my Green pesto pizza, which is green from the base through to the toppings.

Add the cacao butter, honey, vanilla and salt to a saucepan over very low heat and allow to melt completely. Remove from heat and set aside a few minutes to cool slightly.

Food processor method - Add the macadamia nuts to a food processor and blend a few minutes until they are completely smooth. You will need to stop every so often to scrape down the sides. Add the cacao butter liquid and matcha and mix until combined.

Blender method - Add the nuts, matcha and cacao butter mixture to a high-powered blender and mix on high until smooth.

Pour the chocolate mix onto a lined cookie sheet and use a spatular to spread out to your desired thickness (usually around 0.5 - 1cm | 0.2 - 0.4in). Sprinkle with the genmaicha and place in the freezer to set.

Once set, break into bite-sized pieces. Store in the fridge up to two weeks.

Notes

A few notes about substitutions - you could use cashews in place of macadamias here and other sweeteners in place of the raw honey (eg maple syrup) though this will change the colour and flavour slightly.

Cacao butter is the star ingredient here and can be bought from health food stores, or some larger supermarkets.